There is Mobile VoIP, Telco OTT, Converged Services and other categories. However, all of these feed up to a greater category offering known as Operator OTT.
CounterPath is leading the way with the world's first Operator OTT solution launched by Rogers (Rogers One Number – Launched February 2012).
Operator OTT is prime for a significant uptake breaking through the wake of WebRTC and RCS and focusing on delivering services based on technologies that exist today. Operator OTT has been fully interoperated and proven within a number of deployments, and presents the opportunity to transition to these other technologies when and if they are ready.
In the mean time, the threat is real and Operators are finally getting it. Check out the recent research by mobileSQUARED:
- 79% of operators believe that OTT clients on smartphones are a threat to traditional SMS- and voice-based services.
- 73.7% of operators identified messaging as the service most challenged by OTT.
- 57% of operators expect 11-40% of their customer base to be using OTT services by the end of 2012.
- 42% of operators expect over 40% of their customer base will be using OTT, while 50% expect 21-40% of their users on OTT services.
- 100% of operators now believe voice and SMS traffic over the mobile network will decline over the next 5-10 years.
- 37% of operators believe the decline in voice and messaging revenues will be 1-20%, and 53% expect 21% and over – almost double the number
Also with Skype now representing over 33% of all international long distance traffic, the pressure on Operator revenue models is at a tipping point. Operators can either beat them or become de facto data pipes. The good news is Operators are in the best position to compete against Internet OTT players (i.e., Skype, Viber, Rebtel and others). After all, the Operators own the most ubiquitous termination network on the planet and control all call and messaging that flows over it. The latter is key as Internet OTT providers do not have the same reach into the network to enable seamless communications.
Leveraging existing technology coupled with the Acme led TSCF technology, CounterPath is able to offer a solution that performs better than Skype. This means Operators can not only bring to market a solution that is tied to the current legacy network but can also provide better performance than the poster boy for Internet OTT high quality: Skype. The combined solution offers the follow key features:
- Better call quality in packet loss scenarios (i.e. the Internet)
- Manages network swaps without call drops
- Intelligent firewall traversal
- Standard codecs & signaling
- HD voice, video, messaging and presence
The resulting benefits are significant:
- Own the customer—Provide a one-stop place for all communications. No need to use other Internet OTT services.
- Reach – Easy firewall traversal with auto-sensing
- Reliability – despite network diversity (packet loss, session keep-alive, tunnel management)
- Call continuity across mobile (3G/4G) and Wi-Fi
- High QoExperience with standard codecs
- Complete security – encrypted sessions (SIP, RTP, MSRP) using TLS & DTLS
- Simplification of signaling & media w/in tunnels (no SRTP)
- Optimized for real-time communications (hardware acceleration)
From a deployment point of view, it leverages the Acme Net-Net 4500 platform (with NIU - Hardware accelerated encryption), CounterPath's Bria mobile and tablet clients and CCS provisioning server. In some cases CounterPath's NCG can be used as the call switch (with paired media gateway).
At the recent Mobile World Congress, CounterPath launched an Operator focused service called Bria play. The service leverages TSCF, Bria, CCS and the NCG to enable an Operator OTT solution that provides HD voice, video, messaging (IM and SMS) and presence. The service launched to demonstrate the capabilities of what Operators could launch but is also planned to be a white labeled service that Operators may wholesale to kick start their offerings. By white labeling the Bria play service, Operators can quickly (soft) launch an Operator OTT service to their customers without significant CAPEX investment. In the future, they can simply switch over to CounterPath's products and host themselves with little service disruption. We were overwhelmed with the positive reception we received by potential wholesale customers and look forward to future launches of the white labeled Bria play offering.
We will keep you posted….
